Making A Mark

My hugely talented blogger friend, Dianne Mize, nominated my painting 'Cool Off' for Best Portrait by Female Artist on a Blog in 2008, over on Katherine Tyrrells' blog Making a Mark! This, I was totally gobsmacked and thrilled about, but now I find Katherine has picked "Cool Off ' in her top five shortlist, to be voted on by her visitors! I have very tough competition, and am currently lagging behind, so, please, please get over there and vote for me? I would appreciate it sooooooo much.
Have a great Christmas and New Year holiday.

DSFDF My Effort

My thanks to Karin Jurick for her brilliant idea for her Different Strokes For Different Folks blog, because I had such a good time painting this portrait. And now there is the added interest waiting to find out who I have painted. What a lovely young woman! And also to see what she did with my image! So interesting, Karin, I salute you!

Jan 16" x 20" Oil WIP

I think this is getting there, although I'm sure Janice won't think so! I'm having terrible trouble with the teeth..............is it allowed to stick a photo on and paint over it? No! Oh well, persevere then!

Jan 16" x 20" oil WIP

After I cleared a path to my easel ( how does it get like that!!??) I made a start on my sister Janice. I have no more siblings, I promise. It looks nothing like her, yet, so expect a transformation.
We are as chalk and cheese. She is an accountant, can there be anything more different to an artist? I'm fat, she's skinny, I'm a dreamer, her feet are firmly on the ground, I waffle, she calls a spade a spade, she's soppy about children and animals, I'm not, she's lived in the same town all her life, I haven't ... you get the picture. We do, though, get on very well.
Roy has a couple of days off work, so I shall probably not do any more to this until next week.
Have a joyous weekend and happy painting!

Peace and Kisses

Now I don't do Christmas, but for all of you that do, my wish for you is peace and lots of kisses under that mistletoe! Or, at least, to be surrounded by love, not only for this season, but always.

I wish to thank everyone who has visited, and those who continue to visit, and leave those wonderful comments that keep me going. There have been times when, without your support and your inspiration, I might have given up. So, a big heartfelt THANKYOU.

Brothers Too 20" x 16" Oil

This has to be a finish! It started as a fast, loose sketch, but has taken ages! At last, Andy looks a bit like Andy, and I like the greyed tone of it and the tension. No prizes for guessing what they were doing......watching TV. I think Arsenal were playing, hence the clenched fist!

If you would like to purchase this painting for 120 GBP please email me.

Reading 24" x 24" Acrylic

I have not finished Brothers Too to my satisfaction yet and I am also working on a couple of other things, that I can't post here.......so.......here is another one I did earlier. A self portrait, working primarily with a palette knife, and a very limited palette of colours. I was very happy with this, and someone liked it enough to give me money! Mixed feelings about that!

Brothers Too WIP

Happier with Andy, today, well, I have left him there! They don't fit together yet.

That Letter! Acrylic 24" x 24"

Today was a wipe off! I was painting my other brother, Andy. I couldn't get a likeness and the colours were all wrong. It might have been all right in a different painting. I do have some really BAD days. Tomorrow will be GOOD!
Never mind, here's one I did earlier! This was at HAS life drawing 5 or 6 years ago. Very different to my work now. This won 'Best in Show' that year at a local exhibition.

If you would like to purchase this painting for 200 GBP (unless otherwise stated) please email me.

Brothers Too WIP

I have been working on Steve, although I'm not sure where! I took this photograph while it was still daylight, which was about halfway through my session today. Trying so hard to keep it loose, but it is not happening. Fiddle, fiddle, fiddle, drat it!
I don't know if it is the cold, but I had to keep nipping indoors to pay a visit! Not good for concentration!

Brothers Too 20" x 16" Oil WIP

I decided to show you this because I started differently to usual. I have been following Susan Carlin and David Darrow ( and learning a lot) and drawing the composition first, as they do. But I watched Rolf Harris paint the Queen again and he paints the whole canvas, blocking in big shapes and then makes finer and finer adjustments. So that is how I have started this.

Man + Boy 20" x 30" Oil Finished

All it needed in the end was a little refinement on the boy. I like this a lot.

If you would like to purchase this painting for 400 GBP please email me.

Interspect 24" x 24" Acrylic

I have started another double portrait today, but it is in no fit state to view.....it hasn't got faces yet! So as not to show favouritism, it is of my other two brothers, Steve and Andy. Coming soon.... and then of course there is my sister, Jan.
I thought I would show one of my personal favourites, so far. I love the composition. It reminds me of myself at that age, sitting, isolated, at a party, far away in my own little world. The original was sold, but I missed it, so I painted this one for me. Having said that, if you really like it, I am not averse to selling it!

Have a good weekend, as I shall, because it's HAS day tomorrow! Check my other blog next week!

If you would like to purchase this painting for 300 GBP, please email me.

sharon.wright9@btopenworld.com

Christmas Gifts

It is only four weeks to Christmas! I know where you can get that perfect gift for someone special in your life. These drawings are fun, personal and very affordable. But email me now for more info, time is running out!

sharon.wright9@btopenworld.com

Premio Dardos Award

Today, my amazing blogger friend, Dianne, has given me an award.

This award is given for recognition of cultural, ethical, literary, and personal values transmitted in the form of creative and original writing and art work ...that's the general idea. I am really thrilled to receive it. Thank you for your unwavering support Dianne.

The rules of this award are as follows:

*Show the image of the award on your blog.

*Link back to the blog that gave the award.

*Nominate 15 other blogs that you consider deserving the same. (How Many?)

*Leave a message on the blogs of those you’ve selected.

OK, here is my list of fabulous bloggers:

Dianne

Susan

David

GMComicz

Vicki

Beverly

Pattie

Martin

Carol

Bill

Karen

Justin

Edward

David

Nicole

Today I have been painting. A friend gave me some freesias ( my Mums' favourite flowers) and I thought 'great, good subject'. Well, three times I wiped it off, and then gave up. I have usually painted flowers with watercolour and found oils just don't convey the delicacy I was after. No awards for my efforts today, Dianne!

I carried on with 'Man + Boy', but I won't post that again until it is finished.

Thanks for your visit, don't forget to comment or, at least register your 'reaction'.

Happy painting.

'Man + Boy' 30" x 20" Oil WIP

Roy went to work today so I could do some more to this. Comments always very welcome and I don't know if you have noticed the 'reactions' part at the end of each post? I would love some of those too!

'Red Pepper' 10" x 10" Oil + 'Man + Boy' 30" x 20" Oil WIP

Just to show you that I did darken the background on 'Red Pepper'. I am happier with it now.

This is the painting I am working on, of my brother Jeff. I was going to present the boy as a photograph, but really, no-one has a photograph of themselves that big! Do they? So a painting, then? In a different style, perhaps? More colourful? Looser, tighter? A la Van Gogh? Help! Suggestions fully appreciated, please.

Roy has a week off work, so I shall be playing for a few days, no painting. Back next week!

If you would like to purchase 'Red Pepper' for 70GBP please email me.

TAGGED!

I have just been tagged by Dianne!This is a really fun way to get to know your blogger friends! The rules of this great game are:-
1. Put a link in your posting to the person who tagged you.
2. List 7 unusual things about yourself.
3. Tag 7 other bloggers at the end of your post and comment on their blogs to let them know.


I have read what others have written about themselves and I am just so boring! This is really difficult, but here goes:
1 I adore and cherish my husband, Roy.
2 I love naturist holidays....the freedom, which is very important to me.
3 I was a doctors' receptionist for 16 years, and I was the nice, helpful, happy, one.
4 My favourite food is fish and I love them all except squid, if that is a fish, because I had the screaming abdabs cleaning one once. Never had oysters or lobster, something to achieve before I die!
5 I was expelled from school for swearing at a teacher and making him cry. I was an awful child.
6 I canoed on the River Nene from Wellingborough to Peterborough, it took a week, with 6 teenage boys, camping on the banks. Where do you pee? As the only female it was excruciatingly embarassing.
7 I adore and cherish my husband, Roy. I know, I know, but really there is nothing else!
Well actually, there is something else, I 'ran away' from home when I was 21, to escape a tyrannical, abusing father.
How could I have forgotten that I appeared on national television! A program called 'A Brush with Fame' which aired about three years ago. 75 artists converged on Cambridge for a regional heat. The first thing was a 1/2 hour self portrait, after which 50 of us were sent home again. Next was a 3 hour portrait of a celebrity, after which 10 artists were left standing, me included.

Then another 3 hour celebrity portrait. I didn't win the heat, but was thrilled at how far I got and enjoyed the experience immensely. The processes of filming were fascinating. I painted Barry Norman and Lord Charles Brocket.

These are the three judges, Christian Furr, an artist who painted the Queen, David Lee, art critic and editor of the art paper The Jackdaw, and Gerald Scarfe, caricaturist.

My 7 bloggers of note, just because I love their paintings, are:

1 Michael
2 Theresa
3 Qiang
4 Marc
5 Nigel
6 Greg
7 Michael

Enjoy!

Red Pepper 10" x 10" Oil

My painting of my brother is progressing oh - so - slowly and not up to scrutiny yet. I had to do something else, today, so I did this.....fast! I am a slave to what I can see and painted the background as it was. A little thought might have suggested it would be better dark. Try that tomorrow.

If you would like to purchase this painting for 70GBP (unless otherwise stated) please email me.

Remembrance Day

I know I painted this in the summer, but I thought it appropriate for today. It is for my Granddad, who died, fighting to preserve the freedom for me to be able to paint this, though during the second world war, not the first.
Rest in peace, Hugh Felce.
I have been thinking of the unimaginable horrors he must have endured and the worst thing is that it still goes on. So this is for every serviceman, too, in heartfelt gratitude and admiration. And for every woman who has lost a grandfather, father, son, nephew, cousin or uncle.

Cool Off SOLD

Here is 'Cool Off'' again for those of you who haven't seen it or have forgotten what it looks like.

May it live forever in a happy home!

I've done no painting this weekend because I am trying to improve the ref photos for the painting I have started of Jeff. Photoshop is completely alien to me, but I am trying. Perhaps I should stop listening to other folk, I was quite happy working from rubbish photos before! No...I shall persevere for I have to make better paintings. Onwards and upwards!

Adolescent 30" x 42" Oil + Brothers 4 3/4" x 9" Oil

To redress the balance, this is an early portrait I did of my eldest son, Richard. He was about 15, and I had to make a note of how awkward and unsure and gawky he was! I did a smaller pastel version of this, which won a prize in a local show! I remember how thrilled I was, and there was money involved, and I'm sure it encouraged me to carry on.

I found this photo, of Richard and Andrew, when I was looking for the one of Andrew that I wanted to paint. It struck me how similar a composition it is to my painting of 'Sisters' that I did back in July.

I'm very into 'family' at the moment, painting wise, that is, because I have started a new larger painting today, of one of my brothers, Jeff. It's to be a double portrait of how he is now and also of the boy. There, I shall have to finish it now that I have told you all!

I sold ' Cool Off' at the show at the weekend! Yippeeeeeeee!!!!!

Sorry this post has been a long time coming, but I have to change my routine now the clocks have gone back. Getting to the studio with lots of time to paint, in daylight, has been nigh on impossible! Got to get my act together!

Happy painting, thanks for your visit.

If you would like to purchase 'Brothers' for 70GBP please email me.

Penny Oil

Meet Penny, one of our models at HAS life drawing yesterday. Please check out my other blog to see my other drawings, if you would like too.

Andrew - Finished!

At last, Andrew is finished, although I can see things not right, so maybe I shall fiddle some more. And that is what I did....fiddled and fiddled and fiddled. I even got a magnifying glass out at one point! This was a struggle. And as usual, it is nothing like my initial vision for the painting. The photograph is a problem to start with, because of the flash. Dave Darrow is so right, you have to have good reference material. Also, Andrew is smiling, which is always difficult to portray so that it doesn't look 'pasted on' or like a grimace. It would have made a better painting, too, if I hadn't slavishly painted the shrug, as it doesn't quite read right, so maybe I will alter that.

Having said that, I am not blaming my tools, as the most difficult aspect was the emotional one.

I have found it extremely valuable, because I can now look at pictures of Andrew without feeling bad immediately. I can smile and laugh at the good times, of which there were far more than bad times.

OK enough waffling!

I have a show to prepare for, framing, labelling, etc., so no painting today probably, but it is HAS life drawing tomorrow so be sure to check out my other blog next week.

Have a good weekend, and thanks for dropping in.

Andrew

Twenty years ago, today, my youngest son, Andrew, passed away. He was nine years old. They say that time heals the pain, but it doesn't. It just helps you deal with it better.

I have been painting a portrait of him today , in remembrance of a happy, brave, very cheeky, adorable child, but I have found it very difficult, and it is not finished. I will post when it is.

The second one here is one of the first drawings I did when I started painting again, which was because I didn't have a picture of all four of us together, and I decided I would paint one.

I have still to paint that particular picture....when I am good enough!

The first one I did after a visit to the Hockney exhibition, where his coloured pencil portraits obviously inspired me.

Sad day, today, but I have to thank Dianne Mize, whose painting of York Falls, lifted my spirits.

Asleep 17" x 17" Oil

This is one of our models at HAS, who is very keen on the poses that enable her to go to sleep!
I enjoyed this, got my fingers into play again. I have discovered that I much prefer thin paint. Must be the miser in me!

If you would like to purchase this painting for 100GBP please email me.

Head Study 14" x 14" Charcoal

I'm stuck! I keep going to my studio with nothing in mind to paint, inspiration eludes me. The worst thing is that the annual members show for HAS is looming and I want to submit a masterpiece!
This is a study from a photograph of a friend. I don't know why, but I find it much harder to draw from a photo than from life, perhaps because there is NO LIFE in it!


If you would like to purchase this painting for 70GBP please email me.

Thelma 10" x 10" Oil

The plan today, was to finish everything that needed finishing. Oh, right! All I did was this! This was the one I started on Saturday, and I couldn't bear to leave it the way it was. Check out Sharon Elaine to see what it looked like this morning.

If you would like to purchase this painting for 70GBP (unless otherwise stated) please email me.

Eloise 12" x 18" Oil

Meet Eloise, who is one of my nieces. I painted this last week from an old photograph. Circumstances have forced her parents to separate, so she is in my thoughts a lot just now.

Yesterday I went to Hertford Art Society Life Drawing day, the results of which can be found on my other blog, which I have just started, reserved exclusively for the life drawing. Posting on this blog will be monthly.

If you would like to purchase this painting for 100GBP (unless otherwise stated) please email me.

Sorry

OK, I am done sulking! I can't be feeling sorry for myself for long. Thank you everyone for your kind words and encouragement, it means a lot to me. And your words are so true, I could no more stop painting than I could stop breathing!
Anyway, I have been painting, and I went to HAS Life Drawing yesterday, and thoroughly enjoyed myself. I shall post later, so stay tuned.
My apologies to you all, I'm not given to drama queen tendancies usually, and shall endeavor to never do so again.

Sale Ended

The sale on my website has now ended. I would like to thank everyone who took the time to take a look. I am sorry to report that not a single painting is worth 50 quid, nor even worth a comment. I am not sure what I was expecting but I feel stupid and humiliated. I can't do this anymore.

Wheelie! 10" x 12" Pastel

I dug my pastels out today and did this sketch. Boy oh boy, am I out of practice with these! Not a bad start, though, I've done worse.

Don't forget to check out my website to pick up a bargain in the sale!

If you would like to purchase this painting for 50GBP please email me.

Jonathan 16" x 20" Oil

Well! So much for intentions! I couldn't stay away from this. I'm happier with what I have done today, probably because I saw a couple of things that were way off. Can't wait til tomorrow now!

If you would like to purchase this painting for 400 GBP, please email me.

sharon.wright9@btopenworld.com

Jonathan 16" x 20" Oil WIP

I worked some more on this portrait yesterday, and got very cross because it seemed that every brushstroke went wrong! I have somehow made him look about ten years older! I will put him away for a couple of days and come back to him with fresh eyes.

Thanks for visiting.

SALE

I need to clear space in my studio and raise funds for materials, so for one week only, all available artwork on my website is priced at 50 GBP + P+P, regardless of size or medium.
Take a look on http://www.sharonwrightartist.com/ and if anything catches your eye please email me at sharon.wright9@btopenworld.com.
Thanks for visiting and for your support and thanks in advance for the millions I raised!

Pennies, obviously!

Jonathan 16" x 20" Oil WIP

I've only had about an hour painting today, another job interview this afternoon! Have made a start on the sweatshirt and fiddled with the hair, which I wished I hadn't as it looked better before! Still a long way to go.

Stella 9" x 11" Coloured Pencil + Ink

We have been busy entertaining Gary, our visitor from the USA, this week, but I managed to produce this drawing. My very good friend, Stella, is celebrating a very special birthday tomorrow, so this is for her.

If you are looking for a special, very personalised gift for someone, give this a thought. It is my version of the caricature and a bit of fun! More examples of these can be found on my website.
Please email me for details and prices, etc. if you are interested.
sharon.wright9@btopenworld.com

Good Morning! 10" x 10" Oil

Did this with my fingers, with a load of green paint left on my palette and yellow ochre straight from the tube. I did cheat and define the features with a brush. What fun!

If you would like to purchase this painting for 70GBP (unless otherwise stated) please email me.

5th Nov 12" x 9 1/2" Oil

This is my Mother and my two children, from a photo taken too many years ago to count.
It is really weird how you don't see what is wrong until you get it on the computer screen!
I can see that the bigger boy is far too big and he's not actually sitting on the wall! I probably won't post this again, but I will make the adjustments, because they will drive me nuts.

P.S. My buyer for the house has changed her mind! In the grand scheme of things, it matters not a jot, but initially, I'm not good with disappointment. But that was yesterday...................next?


If you would like to purchase this painting for 70GBP (unless otherwise stated) please email me.

Mates 17 1/2" x 13" Oil WIP

I have done a wee bit more work on this, but I have got to the stage, as I always do, where I think 'that will do'. I quite like it, but it seems a bit bland. So I shall put it away for a couple of days and then look at it again with fresh eyes.

I don't know if I shall paint today. We have just sold our house AND had our offer accepted on the house we want! I am all of a doodah, so excited!

Mates 17 1/2" x 13" Oil WIP

I did some work to Roy yesterday, but didn't get time to post. I find the computer a brilliant tool, as things that are wrong are glaringly obvious, probably because the image is much smaller. I can see now that Roy's neck is too thin and his left arm and hand are all wrong. A lot of fine tuning to be done, then. Back to work!